High performance integrated circuits typically generate significant amounts of heat during operation as current flows through transistors in active portions of the integrated circuit. Active cooling of chips and chip packages containing integrated circuits reduces the onset of thermal-induced breakdown of integrated circuit elements and prolongs the useful lifetime of such integrated circuits. Some types of integrated circuit degradation include hot carrier injection (HCI), time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), and electromigration of metallic components. The thermal exposure of integrated circuits (ICs) and IC packages during circuit manufacturing and operation can also impact the overall IC lifetime.
Refinements to manufacturing techniques reduce defects that lead to premature circuit aging. Such techniques relate to deposition of films for gate electrode formation and methods of forming gate electrodes.